Talk To Me
by AliceRulesMyWorld
Summary: Bella has not talked in Six months. What happens when her new family won't give up on her?
1. Chapter 1

**ESME'S POV**

"Now kids, your new sister…refuses to talk. Her name's Bella. Don't make sudden moves around her, sorry Emmett no hugs, you either Alice. She was beaten by her boyfriend. He threatened her. It scared the crap out of her, and now she won't speak. You can try to talk to her if you want. She'll communicate—but she won't actually _talk_. Do you guys want to come and get out of the car _one at a time?_"

So we all three climbed into the car and drove to the agency.

"Ali, you first, remember, no hugs!"

**BPOV**

My new family is coming to pick me up. Well, joy. They'll probably just send me back like the rest when they get tired of me not talking. Do you _know_ how many foster homes you can go through in six months? One hundred and thirteen, that's how many.

Two women walk in, the one with the caramel hair, is Esme my umm… 'mother'. The other is—what was her name?—Alice, my 'sister'. I have a 'brother' too. But he hasn't come in yet, they don't want to scare me, I think.

"Hi, Bella," Esme says, very softly. I nod.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice says, softly but perkily. These two are definitely biological mom and daughter—they have the same hair and eyes. "Bella, can you answer a question for me?" Alice asked, while Esme went to get Emmett, my 'brother'. I nodded at Alice.

"How long have you not spoken? Five months?" I shook my head and pointed up with me thumb. "Six months?" I nodded. "If I guess will you tell me why?" I shook my head, however, I looked apologetic, I hoped. I wished I could talk to Alice, but I just couldn't.

"Bella?" Emmett said. I nodded hello, "I'm Emmett but you know that." I nodded again.

Awkward silence.

"Bella, would you like to meet our friend?" I nodded.

"How many feet away do you need him to stay Bella? Six?" I nodded.

**EPOV**

"Edward," Esme said when she reached me, "you can come and meet her. But you need to stay six feet away, okay?"

I walked into the room. She was the most gorgeous person I have ever seen. She had beautiful brown eyes and long brown hair.

"Hello, Bella," I said maintaining a careful six feet. "I'm Edward Cullen." She nodded at me. "It's nice to meet you, "she inclined her head towards me in a 'same here' sort of gesture. "Are you going to school with us tomorrow?" She thought about it for a moment. Then she nodded her head, but she looked scared. "It's alright Bella, I will stay with you the whole day," Alice said. "How many feet?"


	2. Personal Space

**BPOV**

My first day at a new high school. Again. Who names a town after an eating utensil and then names the school after it? Are they crazy?

Alice had rearranged her classes she could have all of them with me, and explain things to the teachers, that way I wouldn't have to talk. I had told Alice she could be at one foot away from me, which is closer than I let anybody else. Alice said she felt very privileged and that no one else was getting closer to me than I wanted, which was six feet.

"Hi, Bella, I'm Mike Newton." My eyes widened, he was too close.

"You're in her personal space." Alice said.

"I'm five feet away!" he protested.

"Yes, exactly, now back off." He scoffed and took another step forward. I yelped, I didn't mean to. Alice stepped in front of me.

"Are you deaf? You're in her space."

"So are you," he argued.

"She gave me permission."

"Bella, can I come closer to you," he asked, expecting me to give him permission to step closer. I shook my head.

"Oh," I smiled at Alice, a thank you, my new family understands me, so I don't _have_ to talk. They know what I mean.

"You're welcome Bella."

**EmPOV**

"Mike, seriously do not go near her again." I said.

"Alice was just being over protective," he said sounding sure.

"No, she wasn't. If you do go near her again, then you'll be dealing with _me_. She doesn't talk, not for six months. So _back off!"_


	3. AND SHE WANTED A HUG!

**APOV**

It was getting frustrating—or I thought it was—to keep people away from Bella. They didn't seem to get the not-so-subtle hint that screamed, "Leave her alone, are you stupid!"

It was slightly funny; she was walking down the halls, by herself, though I told her she didn't have to, she shook her head, telling me that she could, when Mike Newton started harassing her again. She, apparently, knows how to defend herself, because she punched him. He tried to block, but she was too quick. She gave a triumphant smile and came over to me, looking at me apologetically. "You didn't do anything wrong, Bella. We explained to him a thousand times that he needed to leave you alone, and he didn't. You had every right to hit him." She gave me a genuine smile. "Anytime, Bella." I answered.

**EPOV (Edward's)**

"Bella, can I sit by you?" She shook her head, apologizing with her eyes. Bella was making a heroic effort to let us be closer to her, but she was still keeping her distance from us guys, which I understood, sort of. I wished it didn't have to be that way, but it did. She looked at my sister, Rose, and then at the seat next to her. Ah, she wanted to be surrounded by girls, but she looked toward the seat across from her, and nodded to me. So I sat across from her and our 'conversation' began.

**Biology**

**APOV**

(Underline=Bella)

**(Bold=Alice)**

We sat at the same table in Biology and I just got bored, so was she because we had finished our work already.

**Having fun? Sitting there staring at a pencil must be extremely amusing.**

Ha ha. I'm laughing inside.

**So…can I ask you a question, Bella? It's kind of personal…**

I can always choose not to answer. Ask away. Besides, you're my sister.

**Why don't you ever talk out loud?**

That is pretty personal um…can I leave out some of the…finer points?

**If it makes you more comfortable, sure.**

Thanks. Well, back in Phoenix, I had a boyfriend, not a very good one, but I was scared to break up with him. His name was Laurent. He had a bit of a…temper. Okay more than a bit of one. But he had so much aggression. I finally broke up with him, and took up boxing to defend myself, but at that point, I was so afraid of him that it…didn't…matter…how…_well_ I could defend myself. The day I left—my foster parents didn't want me in the state anymore, they just didn't _trust_ Laurent. Not that I blame them, neither did I. But anyway, he showed up at the airport, and he said…he said…I want to tell you, but I can't. You can't tell anybody Alice, I want to tell Emmett and Esme and Carlisle, but I can't yet.

**Thanks for trusting me, honey.**

Thanks for listening

**Anytime. Day or Night.**

Alice?

**Yeah, Bella?**

When we get home…I want to give you a hug.

I accidentally squealed out loud and Bella gave me a disapproving look. The whole class looked at me like I was insane, but I didn't care. Bella had told someone! AND SHE WANTED A HUG!


	4. What he did say to you?

**What My Reviewers want my reviewers get! So, you get to find out what Laurent said to Bella!**

**BPOV**

It was weird, I mean, I hadn't hugged another person in roughly half-a-year. But at the same time, it was…nice. It was just very…Alice "Bella," she said as she pulled away. I nodded for her to continue, "what exactly did _he_ say to you?"

_Flashback_

"_Don't forget Bella, I've never done my worst with you."_

"_I'll be leaving Laurent," I said, matter of factly._

"_And your family? Where are they going?"_

"_Y…yo…you wo…woul…wouldn't!"_

"_Are you sure, Bella?" And one last time for good measure, he punched me in the face—hard. It broke my nose. "I'll find you Bella. And we'll have some _fun _again. Don't get caught."_

_By fun, he meant beating me within an inch of death._

And I haven't said a word since that threat. I'm afraid that if I do, it will all spill out, every little secret, everything he said, every time he hit me, every bruise he gave me, every rib he broke by kicking me, every limp he ever caused, will come rushing out like a stream and I won't be able to stop until I have accounted for every beating Laurent ever gave me.

I took my pen and my notepad and started to write:

_That he would find me. And hurt my family and…he'd do it again._

"Do what?"

_Almost kill me._

"Not ever, Bella. He has to go through me, and Emmett and Esme and Carlisle and Edward and Jasper and Rose before he can even get close enough to touch you with a ten foot pole."

I gave her another hug, it felt nice. Really nice. I could trust her to be this close, I could hug her and maybe I could even eventually talk to her, and I mean talk.

**APOV**

"Bella," I said pulling away from the hug, she nodded for me to continue. "What exactly did _he_ say to you?"

She drifted off then, momentarily, deciding how much to tell me I think. She took a pen and paper and started to write. _That he would find me. And hurt my family and…he'd do it again. _Oh, my god. What did he do?

"Do what?"

She hesitated a second, almost imperceptibly and then, she wrote again. _Almost kill me._

Oh! I couldn't believe someone would ever want to hurt Bella, she was a kind-hearted person. "Not ever, Bella." I insisted. "He has to go through me, and Emmett and Esme and Carlisle and Edward and Jasper and Rose," and Rose is definitely a force to be reckoned with, "before he can even get close enough to touch you with a ten foot pole." Bella drew me into another hug, and I thought 'we really are becoming sisters.'


	5. Reviews!

**Okay Guys, here's the deal.**

**I need Reviews. I want ten reviews on my recent chapter in this story and I won't post another until I get them. Not to be mean but my stories feel unloved and if they feel unloved they don't work! So review!**


	6. Why Don't You Trust Me?

**Thank you for your opinion, Leon. You are definitely right.**

**No more demands, I promise.**

**BPOV**

I never though that I could trust again, but my family and my friends had proven me wrong. I had opened up to Alice very soon; I felt a connection with her, an already developed trust. It was unspoken but I knew that I could trust her. Somehow, in the back of my mind and the bottom of my heart, I knew that Alice would never betray me. Never. Emmett. Emmett was an awesome big brother, who would look out for me through anything I knew. I also knew that no one was getting close enough, and that's no one, unless I wanted them to. Because If I didn't want them to Emmett, then Emmett wasn't going to let them. And their other halves were cool, too. Jasper was so calm and collected, that he could keep me calm as well, I never freaked out around him, unless someone got way, _way_ too close. And that's where Emmett and Rose come in. Rose is SCARY let me tell you what. She is very defensive of me. It's like having another sister. And then there's Edward. Edward I want to trust. He's not my siblings and he's not my siblings' other half, though. He is just Edward. I would love to able to trust a guy, without a reason, to just freely be able to trust. And I'll be able to do that. Eventually. At some point. Not right now, though. Not yet.

"Bella!" Alice snapped me out of my reverie. "Are you alright?" I nodded. I knew Edward was getting annoyed with my lack of trust for him, and that I wouldn't speak. But what did he expect, had I spoken once in the last six months? No, I had not. So what did he want from me?

**EPOV**

It was so _frustrating. Why _did Bella _never speak?_ I didn't _understand_. We were here for her, didn't she know that? Of course she knew that, but she just didn't trust me. I would be protective of Bella, too, if ever I had to be. Except, Jasper, I could never be calm like Jasper is. Maybe my temper scared her. I will admit to having a temper that I couldn't control. She _was_ easily scared, didn't I know that, but I couldn't _help_ my temper. Although, I must admit, I'm disappointed. I would've though she would've realized I would never _hit_ her. "Bella!" Alice shouted, bringing me back to reality…Bella was she alright? "Are you alright?" I watched her for the answer she nodded. Thank heavens. She looked deep in thought and I wondered if we were on the same wavelength.

**Later…**

I was sitting outside on my porch. It is my favorite place to be when it's warm, in the springtime. Okay, so I was _also_ waiting for Alice and Bella. Not that I was _anxious_ to see Bella. Not that I didn't want to see her, I just…There she is!

I didn't know Bella was an artist until I walked outside later. She was sitting where I had been. "Where's your head?" I asked her. She showed me what she was drawing. It was a painting of her family. Not the one in Phoenix, but Alice, Emmett, Esme, Carlisle and herself. Esme was standing in front of Carlisle and he had his arms wrapped around her waist. Alice and Emmett are sitting on the porch swing. And Bella sitting on the railing along her porch staring at them. It was amazing; it was like she was seeing herself drawing this. I am sure that was the idea. She was just starting on herself. "It's amazing, Bella." She smiled thanks to me. "Your welcome," I said. I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm, and flipped back a page. There was one of me, Rose, and Jasper. My second family she wrote at the bottom. "Then why don't you trust me?" She shrugged, and put her hands up. "How don't you know?" I asked a little bit angry. She hopped off the porch and ran in the opposite direction. Me and my stupid temper.

**BPOV**

"Where's your head?" he asked me. I showed him what I was drawing it was my family. My family here, not in Phoenix. It was nothing special. Just all of us on our front porch a picture of me drawing with them in the background, doing their own things. "It's amazing, Bella," he complimented me. I smiled a thank you. "You're welcome." He turned around to leave, but I wanted to show him something, so I grabbed his arm. I flipped the page back to show a picture of Rose and Jasper and him. I wrote on the bottom my second family. His forehead creased. "Then why don't you trust me?" I didn't know why, so I shrugged. "How don't you know?" He asked angrily. That scared me so I jumped off of the porch and sprinted away. That's why I didn't trust him. His stupid temper.


	7. One More New One

One more new one

It's at 4866036


	8. You're My Rock, Alice

**BPOV**

This sounds ridiculous but I feel like Alice really is a sister. I haven't known her that long, that's why it seems so silly. But I can go to Alice with anything and know that she will never judge me for it. She understands why I don't talk and she never says a thing about it. And that's what I mean. She doesn't push me to talk, she knows that I will talk when I am ready to.

_Alice_ I write during lit and slide the note over to her.

**What?**

_You're my rock, Alice_

And Alice doesn't care about the teacher. She doesn't care about the rest of the class watching, doesn't care that no one knows we were talking. She just gives me a huge hug, and I can see she may just be about to cry. I look at the teacher and point at Alice. He rolls his eyes, but says, "You two are excused. Go before I change my mind."

"Am I really your rock Bella?"

I nod at her and she hugs me again and refuses to let go until the bell rings. And the weird thing is, is I don't mind hugging Alice. That's when I knew that she is more than my rock. She's my sister.

**APOV**

Ridiculous, isn't it? I feel like Bella is my sister, because I trust her, and she trusts me. I want to give her time—she can talk when she's ready, she can let other people in when she's ready. Bella passed me a note. It just said my name.

_Alice_

**What? **I ask

_You're my rock, Alice_

And I don't care that we're in a class room full of people, I don't care that the teacher will be angry. I care that I am Bella's rock. I throw my arms around her, and I am so touched, I think I am going to cry. She looks at the teacher and then points at me. He excused us, only because crying would disrupt his class, though.

"Am I really your rock Bella?" I say. What? I'm just checking

She nods and I hug her again. That's when I knew. We are sisters.

**EPOV**

"Edward!" Alice shouted running up to me at lunch.

"Where's Bella?"

"I left her with Emmett so she's okay, except guess what?" I didn't want to guess what.

"Alice…"

"She said I'm her rock! And she hugged me! Twice! Oh, we _are_ sisters!" Then Alice unexpectedly threw her arms around me. Then she quickly let go and began jumping up and down with a huge grin on her face. I was happy for Alice. I was. But _I_ wanted to Bella's rock. I wanted her to trust _me._ Then I registered something. "She _said?_"

"Okay, she wrote it. But mute point, I'm her rock!" I tried to look happy for her, but I don't think I accomplished it. "Give her time, Edward," Alice said gently. "She wants to trust you more than you know."

"How can you know that?"

"Don't tell Bella, but I've heard her talk."

"But she never…" But Alice interrupted me.

"No, no…she prays. I've never heard from her except one night when I went to bed early, only I couldn't sleep, but she thought I was sleeping. She has the sweetest voice, Edward. She's kind of like that song 'You Found Me' by The Fray. She's calling for God; she just needs to be found.

"But she _talks_. Period."

"Yes."

Bella talks.

But I'm not her rock. Her sister is. Alice is.


	9. Bella Talked

**EmPOV**

I'm so proud of Bella. Alice dropped her off at lunch and here's the thing. Bella hugged me. It was good, to have my little sister hug me and not be afraid to do it. I think she has accepted that we would never hurt her. I want to hunt him down, whoever it was that hurt, Bella. But, in a twisted way, I was glad she was at least here, because already she was like my sister. Alice always says I'm a softie and anyone who cares about me has a place in my heart, and you know what? She's right. I can't imagine why a person would want to hurt Bella. She had such a good heart. "So what's for dinner Bella?" Bella and Esme always do supper, only that's the thing. Bella didn't have to talk we understood, we were patient with her. Bella shrugged. "She didn't tell you yet." She shook her head. "You guys haven't decided." Bella smiled, I hit it on the head.

**RPOV**

I feel so terrible for Bella, and so proud of Emmett. Bella's doing better. She hugs Alice and Emmett—they are family. She gets closer to Jasper and me, close enough to touch. Something inside her, though, wouldn't let her trust Edward. I'm not sure what. There is nothing in the universe he would rather have than her trust, even as much as Jasper and I have, which is not half what she has for her family. I would love to be closer to her, too. Sure we are friends but I would like for us to be like sisters, the way Alice and I are. I can see that Bella is hurting and I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her. Bella has such a good heart, that's easy to see. I can't wait for us to get closer.

**JASPER POV**

I love Bella. She is like a little sister to me. She is a sister to all of us. She has gotten so much more trusting over these past couple months, and I am hoping that soon she will talk to us. I don't have any expectations. None of us do and that's what glues us with Bella, we aren't waiting for her to speak. She'll speak when she wants to when she's ready. She's scarred inside. She is frightened and something is so wrong with her heart. I believe that, in leaving Phoenix, she left a bit of Bella behind. She has to repair that part before she is herself again. Only then will she be ready to speak. She writes to us, if there's paper. But I think her voice is a little in conjunction with her broken heart. She misses her family and she misses her home. I see in Bella what my mother used to be, according to my dad. I see a girl who will heal, she just needs time.

**EmPOV**

Bella and I walked to the lunchroom. We sat down and she smiled at everyone. Bella had begun to trust us all, so much more, and I was so glad for that. I didn't expect her to talk soon, none of us did. That's what links us, what links all of us. We understand that Bella may not talk for another year or more. We won't give up on her just because of that. She's my baby sister. Giving up on her would feel like giving up on Alice. All _wrong._

**RPOV**

Bella and I were alone at out table, and so I thought I'd start a conversation. "Hey, Bella. What's up?" She shrugged her shoulders and gave me a questioning glance. "More or less the same. English was—eventful though." She raised her eyebrow at me.

"Well apparently Lauren only gets to go to Paris with her parents, they're not allowing her to go to Spain. Heaven forbid she not go to both!"

Bella was smiling lightly, waiting for the eventful part. "I told her to shut up because even Tanya doesn't care."

"Yeah, right. Like, just because you like, don't like get to go to Paris."

"Weren't you just complaining about that?"

"I well…"

"If you'll excuse me Tanya, some of us would like to keep our grade _above_ our dress sizes."

"Is that a fat joke? Because I am a size one!"

"Exactly. I said to her. She's freaking out by now, and it's driving her insane that I am completely calm." Now Bella was laughing.

"Then she ran out of the room, crying and shouting 'I'm not fat.'" Bella was in _hysterics_. Through her laughing I almost wasn't sure I heard right, but I thought I heard 'Oh my gosh'. My thoughts were confirmed when her head shot up in surprise. She ran across the table to hug me. "Thank you Bella." When she went to go back to her seat, she put her finger over her mouth. She didn't want to get their hopes up of her talking again. "Okay." I answered.

Bella talked.


	10. More Than I Probably Should

**EPOV**

She talks. I did notice Alice didn't tell me _what_ she heard, only _that_ she heard. There are so many things I want to say to Bella. I want to tell her that whoever hurt her should be in jail somewhere. Or a hospital if I ever find out who it was…I want to tell her that she can trust me, that I won't hurt her, that I want to be her friend. I want to tell her I would never hurt her and I would never ever hit her. She would never see me as a monster, if she would only get to know me, she'd see that. That I cared about her. More than I probably should. I wanted to tell her that she was _safe_.

**RPOV**

I'm so happy for Bella! She spoke. It was only three words. But the key thing here is 'words'.

**APOV**

It's so sad. Bella keeps asking that she can trust Edward more; because she knows it hurts him that she can't. She asks that He helps her continue to trust, and to trust Edward. And that…_he_ won't come after her. She's afraid he'll hurt her family. Not even worried for herself. But that's just Bella.

**EmPOV**

"Alice," I asked, "how's she doing?"

"She's walking around by herself, she wanted to. She told me it was okay!"

"That's wonderful! I'm so happy for her."

**BPOV**

I was walking down the hallway, when my path was cut off. Mike something, I think it was. I tried to walk around him, but he wouldn't move out of the way. I backed up but he just kept following me. "Why don't you talk Bella?" I kept moving. "You're so frustrating!" He raised a hand. I don't think he was going to hit me, but it was a habit. Edward was walking by so I dodged behind him. "You didn't think I was going to _hit_ you, Bella?"

"Newton, you should probably leave," Edward said. He left; he was afraid of Edward? That's silly, but then I realized something. I was, too. "Come here, Bella," he said, giving me a hug. A real hug, a caring one. "I'd never hurt you, Bella. I'd never hit you. You're _safe_ here Bella." _I know Edward, I know that now. _.

**RPOV**

"Oh my gosh! You guys, look!" Edward and Bella were walking into the cafeteria _side by side_! Edward was positively glowing. I could almost hear what he was thinking. _She trusts me. _That was all he wanted since the day he met her, since the moment he met her, according to Emmett.

**EmPOV**

It was something in her eyes, Edward told me, the resilience that wouldn't allow her to fall, the fright that wouldn't allow her to rise. But beneath both those a brokenness, a broken soul was visible. Bella was beating it back with a force to be reckoned with, because that's how Bella was, if you looked, honestly, you _did_ see it there. But you saw the resilience, too.


	11. 42 muscles to frown, 12 to flip her off

**EPOV**

I _will_ make her trust me. Well, okay, she _trusts_ me, but, I feel like an idiot…I want her to like me. To want me the same way I want her. I want her to have the urge to take my hand every time she sees me, two be compelled to kiss me…the way I feel about her. I think I am in love with Bella Swan, a girl who cares about me as nothing more than a friend, and barely that. But that would just have to be enough until she wanted me too.

**RPOV**

Bella is making a heroic effort. Alice and I and Esme and Emmett are allowed to come nearer to her now. We are allowed to give her hugs, because Esme, Emmett and Alice are family, and because I'm a girl. Edward and Jasper are just going to have to wait for Bella. That sounds mean, one of my best friends, and my brother and I'm just leaving them hanging but when Bella is ready they'll know. Speaking of whom… "Hey Bella." She smiled at me. "How's your day?" Bella smiled. "Sweet, anything funny happen?" I asked her. She nodded her head. "Who was it?" She tossed her hair. "Tanya or Lauren?" She put up one finger. "Ah, yes, Tanya is always a good source of entertainment. What did she do this time?" She did the crazy thing with the index finger wraps in circles next to your temple and shook her head humorously. "Well, I know she's crazy, on with the story." At that point Tanya walked up behind me and Bella sent a full glare her way. "You look depressed, Bella, what's wrong?" she asked, not with concern, either. Bella knows something I know, too. She wasn't going to say anything but rather than frowning (which requires 42 muscles) she gave Tanya the middle finger (which requires only 12 muscles). Tanya, looking affronted and surprised walked away, tossing her hair as she went. At which Bella and I began laughing so hard we both fell out of our chairs and were currently rolling on the ground laughing. She looked back trying to give a glare but it didn't work; it made us laugh harder.

**TPOV**

She's so going to crack. "You look depressed, Bella, what's wrong?" I asked mockingly. Bella did something _very_ shocking. Instead of shouting at me like she was supposed to, she flipped me off! I walked away, acting as normal as I could, I shook my hair disdainfully and they fell out of their chairs. _What is so funny!_ I sent them a glare, but they only laughed harder.

**EPOV ( had to put him in guys)**

What was Tanya going to tell Bella now? "You look depressed, Bella, what's wrong?" I heard. Okay so, I was _eavesdropping_ but only a _little_ so it doesn't _really_ count…does it? Then Bella flipped Tanya off, who huffed and walked away. She tossed her hair (annoying much!) and Bella and Rose fell off their seats laughing. She gave them a glare but they laughed harder yet, which was impressive as they were already laughing so hard they were rolling on the floor. "_What_ was that?" I asked them. "Bella, was just about to tell me something Tanya did today that was funny, and she tossed her hair so I knew it had to be her or Lauren then Tanya walked up and was being her usual self and so then…" I was having trouble understanding what she was saying because she was laughing; so was Bella, "Bella re-re-remem—bered that… 42 muscles…frown…12…middle finger…she was…walking away…and tossed her hair…which was funny…because that's…how I knew who…Bella was talking about…and then we just started…laughing and we…couldn't…stop…" At this point, I was also laughing. We must have been a sight the three of us. My stomach actually hurt from laughing so hard. It was funny."

**That's a quote one of my friends told me: it takes 42 muscles to frown and only 12 to raise your middle finger. No credit should go to me for that one.**


End file.
